iGenetic diagnostics raises Rs 130 crore from CDC Group Plc and Manipal Group

This marks the investment debut of CDC Group and MEMG after they launched a Rs 500 cr fund for healthcare-focused investments beyond the conventional hospital services as reported by ET last week.Supraja Srinivasan | ET Bureau | February 28, 2017, 17:30 IST

MUMBAI: iGenetic Diagnostics has raised a new round of funding from the CDC Group Plc - which is the Finance Institution owned by the UK government - and Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) led by Dr Ranjan Pai. iGenetic Diagnostics has raised over Rs 130 cr ($20 mn) in this round according to a person aware of the fund raising.

This marks the investment debut of CDC Group and MEMG after they launched a Rs 500 crore fund for healthcare-focused investments beyond the conventional hospital services as reported by ET last week. The platform is targeting 'out-of-hospital' care services companies like diagnostics and home-care services in India, Africa and South Asia according to top executives at the fund who spoke with ET.

iGenetics Diagnostics offers molecular diagnostics services in areas of critical care, oncology, gynaecology and infertility with the prime objective of making testing affordable and delivering authentic investigations. “With the back-up of strong clinical partners and a research-driven approach, we believe we will be able to create a robust pipeline of new modalities,” Arunima Patel, Founder and CEO of iGenetics Diagnostics told ET. Apart from specialized tests, the company also does routine testing as well as partners with pharma companies and hospitals for testing.

The Mumbai-based company will use the capital, largely to fuel inorganic growth. “One core part of our strategy going forward is acquiring companies. Going forward, we are looking at acquisition targets with revenues of Rs 50-100 crore,” Siddharth Patodia, Co-founder at iGenetic Diagnostics. The company is looking to close 3-4 deals in the next 6 months.

“Highest standards of quality, participation in cutting edge research and fair pricing will govern the manner in which this business will be managed” said Dr Ranjan Pai, CEO of Manipal Education and Medical Group. The fund is looking to deploy another Rs 70 cr in the next 9 months taking the target to Rs 200 cr worth of investments this year.

“We are not in any urgency to exhaust the fund. We want to make our investment bets carefully so that returns can be substantial when we exit. We will look at 4-5 mid-late growth investments through the course of the entire (Rs 500 crore) fund,” T Ramoji, Senior Vice President at Manipal Education and Medical Group told ET.

The company is looking to make acquisitions in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana and Tamil Nadu and achieve the two-pronged strategy of geographical and inorganic growth.

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